Current Section

Quick Report: Richmond 64, La Salle 52

Despite tying the ball game midway through the second half, La Salle couldn't keep its momentum and fell to Richmond by a score of 64-52 at Tom Gola Arena on Saturday afternoon.

At First…
After an ugly few opening minutes, Richmond jumped out to a 20-10 lead over La Salle with 8:46 to go in the first half. The Explorers responded with a 12-4 run to cut the lead to 24-22 with 3:43 to go in the frame before a few quick buckets from Richmond sent the game into the break with the Spiders ahead 30-24. Richmond forward T.J. Cline was stellar in the first half as the senior went into the intermission with 13 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals. For La Salle, B.J. Johnson led the way early on with eight points and three rebounds.

Turning Point…
La Salle scored the first six points out of the break to knot things up at 30 with 17:42 to play before an 11-0 Richmond run gave the Spiders a 41-30 lead, their largest of the ball game, with 16 minutes of action left. La Salle responded with a 15-4 run of its own to tie the game up again at 45 with 10:18 to play. After the deadlock, Richmond would go on to score 12 of the game’s next 14 points to take a 57-47 lead with 6:08 to play and this time the lead would hold until the final buzzer sounded.

Standout Stars…
Johnson continued to shine for La Salle as he built on his strong first half to finish with 18 points and five rebounds to pace the Explorers. Aiding Johnson were the efforts of Demetrius Henry and Tony Washington, as La Salle’s big man duo combined for 16 points and 10 rebounds.

The 6-foot-9 Cline continued to shine in the second half, as the senior finished with 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting, eight rebounds, seven assists and two steals in the win.

Noteworthy Numbers…24: The Explorers turned the ball over 24 times in the loss, their highest total on the season, surpassing their previous season high of 20 which was set in a loss to Dayton back on December 30th.

52: La Salle’s xx points scored on Saturday afternoon are its lowest total for a home game this season and tied for its worst scoring outing of the season.